The Hewlett-Packard HP-71b

( In PockEmul 2.10.0 )

PockEmul was originally dedicated to pocket computers from the 1980s and 1990s, most of them programmable in BASIC. The absence of HP models (HP‑75 and HP‑71) was therefore a gap that absolutely needed to be filled.

I had long postponed this task because I was unfamiliar with these machines, and their complexity somewhat discouraged me. Eventually, I decided to take the plunge—and here is the HP‑71B in PockEmul.

It was an interesting challenge because I wanted to emulate this machine entirely using object-oriented programming, with each component represented as an object or a set of objects. That meant drawing inspiration from existing emulators—mostly developed in C with pointers to data structures—was never really an option.

This is the very first release, and inevitably some issues remain.

Continue reading “The Hewlett-Packard HP-71b”

PockEmul 2.10.0 New Release

Dear PockEmul’s fans, we are pleased to announce the new PockEmul release. It will be available in the next few week.
We are in the final testing phase looking for the most obvious bugs.

This new version brings several new models and some new features:

  • New HP-71b package.
  • New Elektronika MK-90 package.
  • New Sharp PC-1211 Simulator (only available for subscribers as a preview because it still have a lot of bugs).
  • IWS-video for the Sharp PC-1500.
  • New Sharp PC-1445 – included in the PC-14xx package.
  • Modules & Features for the HP-41CX package enhanced.
  • Sharp PC-1261/62 LC-3 compiler
  • Virtual Joypad
  • Keyboard Simulator with Kana first integration.
  • Some User Interface enhancement.
  • Bug fixes.
  • Sharp PC-1500 and Tandy PC-2 free models are limited to base memory configuration. CE-150 is not free anymore.
  • Only 64bit release. 32 bit release is not available anymore on Android.

I’m fully aware that it’s been quite a while since version 2.9 was released.

You might be wondering why I don’t publish smaller releases more frequently, each with fewer models, instead of waiting to deliver a larger release with several models at once.
The truth is, I find it difficult to focus on a single model and bring it to completion from start to finish.
Very often, the final imperfections prevent me from reaching the required level of quality, and solving them takes a lot of trial and error before the right solution emerges.

Working on multiple models in parallel helps me maintain both my curiosity and my motivation.

Rather than writing one long post detailing all the new features, I’ll spread the announcements across several posts leading up to the release date—and possibly even after.

Feel free to share your thoughts and feedback in the comments!

Perfect emulation is an infinite quest. Please report us any inaccurate behaviour at contact@pockemul.com 

A message for our longstanding users and subscribers :
PockEmul is a 25 years passion project and a labor of love.
We invite you to share the passion and love for vintage computing.
Help us make history like these computers have done in the not-so-distant past.
Help us shape the future of PockEmul. Spread the word!

PockEmul 2.9.0 New Release

Dear PockEmul’s fans, we are pleased to announce the new PockEmul release. It will be available in the next few days.

This new version brings several new models and some new features:

  • New Casio VX-3, VX-4 and FX-870p package
  • New Casio Almost PB-100, Almost PB-300, FP-12 and FP-40 (SB-42) package.
  • New CE-15x extension for PC-1500 series.
  • New Sharp PC-E500Jap and PC-E500-BL.
  • New HP-10c.
  • New Search feature for Local and PockEmul Cloud storage.
  • Share a Cloud session by QRCode.
  • CE-1600p new pen head rendering.
  • Keyboard Simulator new layout and overclocking up to x100.
  • A new ‘Lock Position’ feature in the contextual menu that fixes the position of a device on the screen.
  • The XP-140 Monitor Card is available for the X-07.
  • A lot of bug fixes.
Continue reading “PockEmul 2.9.0 New Release”

PockEmul 2.8.0 New Release

Dear PockEmul’s fans, we are pleased to announce the new PockEmul release. It will be available in the next few days.

This new version brings three new models and some new features:

  • New Panasonic HHC package.
  • New Casio FX-9000P package.
  • The HP-35 is now available for free.
  • New share feature.
  • A lot of technical updates and bug fixes.
Continue reading “PockEmul 2.8.0 New Release”